SADHU SUNDAR SINGH'S SPIRITUAL PRACTICE

The Sadhu spent at least two hours daily in reading the Scriptures, meditation and prayer. He would get up by 5:00 am and finish by 7:00 or 8:00 or 9:00 depending on what his schedule was for the day. He often spent the whole day or night in prayer.

His discipline was to read one chapter of the Bible, rapidly at first reading, then to return to reread passages or verses that were more suggestive to him. These he would linger with and meditate on for as long as it was fruitful for him to do so. Next he would enter into a period of 'recollection' for twenty minutes or so. This was a time of silence in which he would allow the Lord to speak to him in some way. With his own mind and heart silenced, he opened his mind and his heart to hear what the Lord would have to say to him or to just simply enjoy companionship with his Lord. Often this period of silence would extend into a deeper state called contemplation in which he enjoyed complete rest and refreshment in the love of God.

Following this period of silence he would often know what to pray about during the rest of his devotional time in the morning. He would also have some indication of what to say or what to do or where to go during the day. He felt as if he had been taught by the Holy Spirit during the time of silence. He knew exactly what to pray about both for himself and for others. Intercession, that is, interceeding on the behalf of others - such as for their healing - was a major part of his devotional life.

Often during times of contemplation he entered into experiences of ecstacy. He regarded these experiences as the same as St. Paul's entrance into the "Third Heaven". During his latter years they occured frequently, as much as ten times a month. About these experiences he said, "I never try to go into ecstacy; nor do I advise others to try. It is a gift to be accepted, but it should not be sought; if given, it is a pearl of great price."

In all his visions, Christ is the constant center and background:

"Christ on His throne is always in the center, a figure ineffable, and indescribable. The face as I see it in ecstacy, with my spiritual eyes, is very much the same as I saw it at my conversion with my bodily eyes. He has scars with blood flowing from them. The scars are not ugly but glowing and beautiful. . . The long hair on His head is like gold, like glowing light. The face is like the sun, but it is light that does not dazzle me. It is a sweet face, always smiling - a loving, glorious smile. Christ is not terriflying at all."

The Christian Contemplative Tradition

In the western Christian tradition meditation refers to thinking about or the use of the imagination around a passage of scripture. Whereas in India meditation refers to silencing thoughts. In the Christian tradition there is a place, however, for the silencing of thoughts and emotions but it has been called contemplation rather than meditation. This is one of those unfortunate twists of semantics which has caused confusion when discussing the spirituality of East and West.

Sundar Singh practiced a sequence of prayer discipline that is identical to ancient Christian monastic disciplines: reading the Scriptures, meditation on a passage of the reading (also called response of the mind and heart), recollection and rest. This sequence has been called lectio divina in Latin. It means divine reading, or more precisely, divine listening; since few people could actually read.

These are the four R's of lectio divina or Christian devotional life:

Reading (hearing) the Word
Responding to it with a willing mind and heart
Recollecting oneself with an open mind and open heart to God's Will, and
Resting in His Presence.

Ordinary Christians would go to the church to hear the Scriptures read aloud, they would remember - and memorize - a passage or verse and ponder it for the week. They would thus be able to carry the Word with them in their hearts into their daily lives. Lectio divina would help them re-collect themselves and stay in the Will and Presence of God.

This was the pattern of Christian prayer life for sixteen hundred years! During the last four hundred years this practice has nearly been lost. Why? Western culture turned the human soul outwards toward the external world. The scientific method and the idea that technology could control human destiny led civilization in a direction away from our true nature.

It is because of marvelous people like Sadhu Sundar Singh of India who remind us that there is indeed an inner spiritual reality - that we were made for personal relationship with the Creator of this Universe - that the deeper spiritual life in Jesus has not been lost. The Creator God wants an intimate, personal love relationship with each and every creature He has created.

Sundar Singh, among others, reminds us that through a daily practice of lectio divina and contemplation we can find the Will of God and enter the very Presence of God. We are called to develop companionship with Jesus Christ, a Guru/Chela companionship, and, ultimately, union with God the Father.

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